Ornamental light systems for trees and other seasonal decorative objects are well-known in the prior art. For example, such systems are commonly used to light Christmas trees and include a plurality of light elements supported along an electrical cord. Cords are aesthetically displeasing and are an inconvenience to untangle and set up, and they limit the user's ability to selectively place the lights. Such limitations usually prevent use of prior lighting systems on hard-to-reach locations (e.g., a high balcony or roof). Furthermore, the cords of such lighting systems are a potential safety hazard. Also, children or their pets can become tangled in the light cords on the Christmas tree, causing the whole tree to fall. This can damage precious ornaments and possibly injure the child or pet.
There are numerous other problems with such prior art systems. When one light bulb on a string of lights goes out, it is usually difficult to replace the faulty light, and thus an entire new string of lights must be purchased. Also, plug outlet restrictions often limit the number of lights that can be put on a Christmas tree. Currently available tree lighting systems are inefficient, are not durable, and often exhibit consistent faults after just a few seasons of use.
Cordless Christmas tree lighting systems have been proposed. U.S. Pat. No. 2,525,624 discloses one such system wherein the individual gas-filled bulbs are selectively positioned on an artificial tree and are energized using a high frequency electric field generator that causes the bulbs to glow. U.S. Pat. No. 2,822,508 also discloses a cordless Christmas tree light; system that uses an oscillating electrical energy source that transmits electrical energy toward a number of gaseous glow lamps. While such systems theoretically overcome the problems of cord-based tree lighting systems, they are impractical, costly, unreliable, and intended for use only with artificial trees. More recently, others have attempted to solve the long felt need for cordless Christmas tree lighting systems by creating complex systems in artificial trees. One such system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,880. This solution obviously is unacceptable to those who desire a natural tree.
There is therefore a need to provide an improved cordless lighting system for use, for example, to decorate a Christmas tree or other decorative object.